An American man was killed by a lightning strike while hiking on Sicily’s Mount Etna. The man was struck Sunday evening in an exposed area above the tree line.
Rescuers located the man in serious condition on the volcano’s eastern slope in the isolated Rocca Capra area of the Valle del Bove, approximately 1,400 meters above sea level. He was rescued by helicopter and later pronounced dead at a hospital in Catania.
The hiker had been in a restricted area that was closed to visitors due to prolonged volcanic activity. This activity recently forced the closure of the airport in nearby Catania for most of last week.
Officials noted that more people have died on Mount Etna from lightning strikes over recent decades than from volcanic activity. The last eruption-related fatalities on Europe’s most active volcano occurred in 1987.